Harder Than It Needs To Be
by Hanneli
Summary: AliceJasper oneshot. Because they rock and deserve more fanfiction. Consider this the precursor to the scene in Eclipse where Alice works her wheedling magic on Bella. To be more precise without spoiling anything, chapter 21.


**I really think there should be more stories about Alice and Jasper, don't you? I absolutely love them together! In fact, I hereby dedicate this little piece to anyone who has written, is writing, or will write an Alice/Jasper story.**

**Disclaimer: Pretty much everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer, except _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, which belongs to Lewis Carroll. I assure you that no copyright infringement is intended.**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

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**Harder Than It Needs To Be**

_"I__'ve seen hatters before," she said to herself: "the March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps, as this is May, it __wo'n't__ be raving mad -- at least not __so__ mad as it was in March." As she said this, she looked up, and there was the Cat again, sitting on a branch of a tree._

_"Did you say 'pig' or 'fig'?" said the Cat._

_"I said 'pig'," replied Alice; "and I wish you wouldn't keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly: you make one quite giddy!"_

_"All right," said the Cat; and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone._

_"Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin," thought Alice; "but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!"_

"I can't believe it!" Alice fumed, storming into the room she shared with Jasper. Her eyes were wild. "How could he? How could they?"

Jasper, leaning against the headboard of their bed, recognised the dangerous edge to her voice. He set aside the book he had been reading and asked, "What's wrong, Alice?" His voice was full of concern.

"Edward's convinced Bella to marry him," she growled furiously, "and they're not going to invite me."

"Why wouldn't they invite you?" He was confused.

"Well," Alice admitted grudgingly, "Not just me. All of us. I saw them running off to Las Vegas, just the two of them." She stalked over to the bed in a huff and sat down on it. "It's all Edward's doing, I just know it. How could he _do_ this to me? He knows I've been making plans for months!"

"Maybe it was Bella's idea," Jasper suggested. "She doesn't seem like the formal wedding sort of person."

Alice's golden eyes seemed to appear a shade darker than usual with anger. "No. It must have been Edward's idea. Bella would never do this to me, Jazz! She loves me like a sister. I'm supposed to be her matron of honour. Well," she paused and glanced down at the ring that she only wore in private, "maid of honour, as far as Forks is concerned."

"Alice, I'm sure they wish you could be there," Jasper attempted to comfort her.

"I'm not so sure if that's true for Edward," she said, a trace of bitterness and hurt in her words. "He still hasn't completely forgiven me for telling Bella so much about vampires." The longer she dwelled on him, the angrier she became. "Not all of us are Emmetts and Rosalies! What if this is the only wedding they have, Jazz? He wants to remember it as having taken place in some dingy Vegas chapel? I can't believe that!"

"Maybe he-"

"Maybe he's forgotten that he was present, front and centre, at our wedding!" said Alice, increasingly irritated. "Maybe he thinks this serves me right for butting my head in all the time. Maybe he didn't even bother to consider how disappointed Esme will be. _Maybe_ he- mmmph."

Her accusations were cut off prematurely when Jasper wrapped his hands around her small waist, pulled her down onto the bed with him and kissed her. Though surprised, she quickly surrendered to his lips. Her hands moved almost unconsciously to his hair as he pulled her even closer to him.

"I should have seen that coming," she complained once they had broken apart for a moment; however, her protest came across as decidedly half-hearted.

Jasper didn't bother trying to hide his smile. "Maybe you would have, if you hadn't gotten so worked up about this."

"I hadn't finished speaking, you know," she warned.

"Neither had I," he assured her. "I was going to say... maybe Edward loves Bella as much as I love you. And maybe he wants to make her as happy as I want to make you."

"Maybe you should stop being so sweet when I'm trying to be selfish and angry," Alice advised.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so cute when you're mad, then," Jasper shot back.

Alice rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help smiling. She leaned her head against his chest and was quiet for moment before saying, "I'm still going to do my best to talk Bella out of this, you know."

"I know," said Jasper.

"But... otherwise..." she continued slowly, turning her head so as to face him, "I'm pretty much out of arguments."

Jasper raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Good," he said. His fingers lightly traced the contour of her jaw, and then he gently raised her chin upwards and kissed her again.

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**Again, I hope you enjoyed it! I wouldn't mind hearing about it if you did... hehe.**

**P.S. If you know of any good Alice/Jasper fics, PLEEEASE don't hesitate to recommend them! I've been on a rampage searching for them lately. :)**


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